Dubai. US President Donald Trump said Thursday he had called off new military strikes on Iran, suggesting progress had been made in talks to end the war just hours after the American leader threatened to escalate the conflict by seizing control of Iran's oil industry.

Trump said in a social media post that he made the move after a breakthrough in negotiations, and that significant points under discussion “have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved.”

The announcement came after two days of back-and-forth attacks between the United States and Iran had pushed the Middle East closer to the resumption of a full-scale war.

Trump had threatened further escalation earlier Thursday, posting on social media that the US would hit Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT” and take “total control” of its oil and gas industries.

A few hours later, Trump wrote that “discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail,” approved by the United States, Israel, and other regional allies. He did not offer details.

Trump has claimed multiple times in recent weeks that the warring parties have been on the cusp of a deal without anything coming to fruition. There was no immediate comment from Iranian officials or mediators regarding Trump’s latest comments about progress in negotiations.

Negotiations have stalled over Iran's nuclear program, which the US and Israel fear could lead to an atomic weapon, but which Tehran says is for peaceful purposes. Another major point of contention is Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane for transporting oil and natural gas.

Trump Again Moves Quickly from Threats to Negotiating
Trump's rapid shift Thursday from dire threats to promoting peace negotiations again underscored his whipsaw approach to the war. He suggested on Monday that a deal to end the conflict could be reached in a matter of days.

Then back-and-forth strikes rattled the Middle East this week. The first involved attacks between Iran and Israel, followed by the two rounds of fire between the US and Iran, which targeted countries where US troops are based. The US strikes began after Trump blamed Iran for downing an American attack helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz. Both pilots were rescued safely.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the US attacks had “effectively rendered the ceasefire ... meaningless,” without saying it was abandoning it.

After Trump threatened more attacks were to come on Thursday, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, responded on social media that “wrong strategies and impulsive decisions” would wreak havoc on energy markets and “create an endless quagmire that you will be stuck in for years.”

It wasn't the first time Trump threatened escalation before giving negotiations another chance. In April, he warned Iran that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if it didn’t agree to his terms, before extending a ceasefire.

Trump Threatened to Seize Iran's Main Oil Terminal
Iran’s monthslong disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has crimped global energy supplies, driven up fuel prices and made food and other basics more expensive well beyond the region.

Trump had threatened on Thursday to seize Kharg Island, the heart of Iran’s oil industry, through which 90% of its exports pass.

But Trump himself soon voiced doubts about taking over the oil terminal, saying in an interview with Fox News: “I don’t know that America has the stomach for it, to be honest.”

“I don’t want to have boots on the ground," Trump said. "But if I wanted to, we could put a small group of soldiers and take over the place.”

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a social media post that the US would extract funds from frozen Iranian accounts to offset the costs of damage to American allies and any tolls Iran imposes for ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz.

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